A Few Days In and Around York

Hello and welcome back to our small corner.

As it has been half term this week, we decided to go away to York for a few days.

After a lovely breakfast on Monday morning, we headed into York City Centre, where we visited Jorvik Viking Centre and Barley Hall, which we had pre-booked due to their popularity. 

We didn't know what to expect at the Viking exhibit but had heard good reviews about the place. The first part of the tour involved walking over a heavy-duty, glass-raised floor that revealed part of the original streets and paving found in the excavations. It was amazing to get up close to this Viking history, but I wouldn't say I liked walking on the transparent platforms. However, my hubby and D seemed to be okay. 

The central hub of the experience was a ride through a reconstruction of the town based on artefacts found on or near the site to give an authentic experience of what life could have been like in those times. It even felt more real by the ingenious use of animatronic figures that are so detailed and expressive that you might think they were real people! 

 

 

In the afternoon, we also visited Barley Hall, a reconstructed townhouse from the Middle Ages, which had been the residence of the Mayor of York. The site has had many uses and was used most recently as a plumbers' store. In the mid-1980s, the building was painstakingly returned to its former glory by the York Archaeological Trust—they reconstructed and decorated the building using the techniques used in the original construction. It demonstrates the skills and talents of 13th-century craft people.

There was also a Shakespearean exhibition with costumes worn by modern actors who have taken part in his plays on display.

 

 

There was then just enough time for a little retail therapy in the many lovely shops of the city. While there, we stumbled upon a very lovely Christmas shop, which had beautiful handcrafted decorations. It was hard not to buy lots of beautiful baubles and decorations while we were there.

 

 

On Tuesday, we visited Beningborough Hall, wBarley Hallith its impressive long driveway and walled gardens. However, we all felt that the ceilings were far too high in the house for the size of the rooms, which made them seem quite small. However, we enjoyed the gardens and yet another display of pumpkins.

 

Before the end of the day, there was still time for a little more shopping, where we found a jigsaw puzzle shop with the largest puzzle we have ever seen for sale. It was a Disney Ravensburger puzzle with over 40,000 pieces and measured 6.8m x 1.9m. That would not fit any of the walls in our house, let alone find floor space to put it together!

 

By Wednesday, it was time for us to start our journey home, but on the way, we found one more lovely place to visit: Brodsworth Hall, which is close to Doncaster. To start, we walked around some of the formal grounds, which the gardeners were laying out for next year's spring bedding. The topiary was impressive, and each garden section felt like an individual garden room. D thought the gardens were tranquil. B was very jealous that she couldn't see any weeds anyway.

The weather was also kind while we were outside.

Once inside, we were greeted by enthusiastic guides in every room, eager to tell us more about the house, the family and others who lived there. The original Georgian House was a short distance away, and when the new owner took over in 1861, he felt it was too big and decided to knock it down and rebuild it. Amazingly, the new house was built in 18 months by a young architect called Philip Wilkinson, and they reused many of the materials from the old building in the new construction.

 

When the English Heritage took over Brodsworth Hall, they decided to conserve rather than restore the House and everything in it. It was a wonderful time capsule of days gone by, and we could all feel that it had been a family home.

 

And then, on Friday, D and I went to the Creative Craft Show, Simply Christmas Show, and Cake and Bake International Shows at the NEC Birmingham—a very dangerous place for two baking and crafting girls to be. But we had a lot of fun and bought... a few things!! We will tell you more next week.

Have a good week, and stay safe, whatever your plans are.

B and D xx